Rooted Plant Shop

10/10/2026

10/10/2026

There’s a reason I recommend a closet for quarantine. It’s normally one of the smallest contained spaces available in a home. If an adult thrips leaves the plant, it only has so many places to go. It may end up on the wall, shelving or somewhere else within that small area where it’s much easier to spot and take down. Compare that with giving a quarantine plant an entire bedroom and suddenly there’s a lot more square footage for a tiny pest to disappear into.

Quarantine isn’t only about keeping a plant away from the rest of the collection. It’s about creating a space where the pest population is easier to contain, find and consistently treat. Add shelving, appropriate light and airflow, spend time inspecting those plants, and that little closet becomes a controlled space where you can actually work through the pest instead of trying to find it across an entire room.

10/10/2026

Green Unicorn is a hybrid of Alocasia azlanii and Alocasia baginda ‘Dragon Scale’. This is a smaller, more compact Alocasia with dark green, almost metallic leaves, darker reddish undersides and texture between the veins. It’s not going to become one of the giant Alocasia, but those little leaves you’re starting with will get larger as the plant matures while it keeps that more compact, upright shape.

For natural light, start it about 1–3 feet from an east- or south-facing window. Green Unicorn does well with a good amount of light, and mine is growing at around 3,600 foot-candles at the leaves. If you’re using grow lights, look for 5000–6500K. Start a high-output light around 8–12 inches above the foliage or a medium-strength light around 10–14 inches, then measure what is actually reaching the plant. Foot-candles simply tell you how much light is reaching the leaves. Good light helps support larger leaves, stronger petioles and tighter growth.

Water when your plant needs watered. When Green Unicorn needs water, you may notice the leaves or petioles starting to lose some of their firmness, which is a good time to check the root zone. Pay attention to the new growth too. Smaller new leaves or petioles that keep getting longer are reasons to check the light. Larger new leaves, sturdy petioles and compact growth are all good signs that what you’re doing is working.

Shop ⬇️ Linked in comments

10/09/2026

I get asked all the time, “Can I use 70% alcohol on this plant?” So let’s do something fun. Drop the plant you want to see in the comments, and I’m going to take every plant you guys name that I have, put it on the table, and spray it with 70% alcohol on video. If I’ve got it, we’re spraying it!

10/09/2026

If your plants rely on natural window light, fall and winter usually mean less light and slower growth, but sometimes a plant still needs to be repotted. Maybe the soil isn’t working for the plant, it’s holding too much moisture, or you’ve found a root issue that needs to be addressed. In those situations.

If you’re simply correcting the soil, staying within the same general pot size keeps you from adding a large amount of extra soil around the existing root system. If roots have been lost because of rot or another root issue, downsizing may actually make more sense. Match the pot to the root system you have now, not the size of the plant above the soil. Less root mass needs less soil surrounding it, especially during a time of year when lower natural light may already mean the plant is using water more slowly.

10/09/2026

I got into Anthuriums because it was one of those plants that everybody was scared of I never really truly had an interest of raising them….but I decided to take a jump. I ended up buying five different types and five of each and spent a year and a half growing them.

Tiny baby plants and I learned a lot from my experiences about light, water, humidity, and some of the cues that they end up giving you and what they truly mean. They do not queue quietly. Like all plants they do talk to you, do you know what they’re saying to you?

I have since sold most of the plants that I raised and now I just gather plants from growers that either don’t have them in the right light or struggle to keep the right environment for them. This one of the 15 that I have randomly collected and now have a hard time letting go.
🙈

10/09/2026

Consider this your weekly reminder that there is, in fact, room for one more. ➕🪴

Link in the comments ⬇️

10/09/2026

Marble Flame is one of those plants where I really want you to look beyond the little leaves you’re starting with. Epipremnum pinnatum is a climbing vine, and giving this plant something to climb is how you start seeing what it can become. As the plant matures, the leaves can become much larger and begin developing those deep splits and fenestrations Epipremnum pinnatum is known for. The species can produce leaves around 3 feet long at maturity, although I don’t have reliable documentation showing that Marble Flame itself will reach that exact size indoors. With its heavy cream and green marbling, watching each new leaf get larger and begin changing shape is a big part of growing this one.

For natural light, start it about 1–2 feet from an east-facing window or 2–3 feet from a south-facing window, aiming for approximately 1,200–2,000 foot-candles at the leaves. If you’re using grow lights, look for 5000–6500K and use that same foot-candle range to help determine placement. Marble Flame has a lot of tissue without chlorophyll, so I would keep this one in good usable light to support that variegated growth. Foot-candles simply tell you how much light is actually reaching the plant.

Water when your plant needs watered. When Marble Flame needs water, you may notice the leaves and petioles beginning to lose some of their firmness, which is your cue to check the root zone. Watch those new leaves too. If they’re staying small or you’re getting longer spaces between them, check how much light the plant is actually receiving and whether it has something to climb. Larger new leaves, tighter growth, a vine actively attaching to its support and those first mature splits beginning to develop are all really good signs that what you’re doing is working.

10/08/2026

The Rooted Care Guides really came from all of you. Over the years, I kept hearing the same questions during my Lives. How do I know when to water? Where should I put this plant? How do I bring my plants back inside? What do I do about pests? What is my plant trying to tell me? Those questions are what built this library.

I wanted to take everything we talk about during the Lives and put it somewhere you could actually go back to when you needed it. If you’re a beginner, the Beginner’s Guide is a great place to start. Or maybe you already feel comfortable with some parts of plant care and you want to learn more about light, pests, signs and signals, variegation or moving plants indoors and outdoors. You can choose the guide that fills in that piece and build your library from there.

You can start with one guide, work your way through the collection, or have the entire library there to reference. They were created from the questions this community has asked me and written to make learning about your plants practical and easier to understand. The whole purpose is to give you the information behind the care, so as your plants and your collection grow, your knowledge grows right along with them.